Article Sidebar

Share this Story: WOLSTAT: Tucker happy for former teammates that Raptors won title

Trending

Article content

TOKYO — NBA veteran P.J. Tucker couldn’t help but think about his time in Toronto when he watched the Raptors win the NBA championship in June.

Tucker was drafted by the team in the second round in 2006 and though he only lasted 21 games as a rookie before being cut, he would eventually return via trade a decade later, bringing toughness, defence and leadership to that squad, finally earning his first playoff berth.

WOLSTAT: Tucker happy for former teammates that Raptors won titleBack to video

Tucker was happy for his former teammates, but it seems like he might have thought about a what if scenario too (Toronto lobbied hard to retain him in free agency, but Tucker elected to join the Rockets).

“Wow. I was just there,” Tucker told the Toronto Sun about his initial reaction, before breaking into a deep laugh. “I was just there and I knew all those guys. All those guys worked really hard, good players, they deserved it,” Tucker said.

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was also complimentary of the Raptors and head coach Nick Nurse, who spent time as the head coach of Houston’s G League (then the D-League) affiliate Rio Grande, winning a title ther too.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“It’s good. Well any coach, I don’t care how long he’s been there, to win a championship is not easy. So kudos to him,” D’Antoni said. “But you know Nick has been around, it’s his first season as the head coach, (but) e was with them for six years so his learning curve was already good. Nick’s a great coach and did a great job.” The long-time NBA head coach doesn’t think the Raptors are done either, even though Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green left.

“I wasn’t surprise that they (won the title), they were a really good team. Anytime you have the team that they had and then they added Marc Gasol halfway through the year, you know they’d be really good,” D’Antoni said. “They’re one of the teams again, that even without Kawhi Leonard will be contending for a title.” Asked by the Sun why he thought that way, D’Antoni mentioned Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“They have a lot of players that can play,” he said.

“Now, will it be harder? Maybe. Kawhi is obviously Kawhi, but they’ll still be one of the top teams (in the NBA).”

A GREAT EXPERIENCE

It’s been 16 years since the NBA has had games in Japan and James Harden is eager to show basketball fans in Tokyo what the league is all about.

“I’m just happy to be here. Just giving them the opportunity to see NBA basketball,” Harden said.

“We look forward to putting on a show and giving them an experience of NBA basketball,” he said, pointing out how watching on television doesn’t do the live product justice.

Besides entertaining the populace, D’Antoni also sees other advantages of the experience.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“I’m always in favour of trips like this because I think it’s good for the team to bond. Japan’s a beautiful place to be so it’s got to be enriching for the players on the court, off the court, playing in front of different crowds so there’s a lot of benefits,” D’Antoni said.

“We’ll get good basketball work, we’ll get bonding off (the court). For me it’s a win-win.”

TUCKER TALKS SHOES

A lot of NBA players have vast shoe collections, but few can match Tucker’s shoe closet. He has hundreds of pairs, but right now is without a deal, making him a sneaker free agent. It’s a welcome change of pace for the forward, who has yet to make a call on who he will sign with.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“I don’t know yet. I’m just having fun right now. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. No rush,” Tucker said after Rockets practice.

Tucker is having a blast.

“Just wearing whatever I want, finally, for the first time in my life,” he said.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

If anybody has seen the movie Lost In Translation, there was a moment on Sunday that mirrored a scene from that movie perfectly. In the film, Bill Murray is shooting a whisky commercial and the Japanese director shouts out instructions in Japanese for well over 30 seconds. The translation told to Murray’s character is basically just “look over there and turn your head.” An incredulous Murray can’t believe that’s all that was said since the director said so many words.

Likewise, Tucker patiently waited, eyes wide, for a Japanese question to finish. When the translation came and turned into: “How are you liking Japan?” all Tucker, and just about everybody in on the scrum could do was laugh.

Share this article in your social network

Share this Story: WOLSTAT: Tucker happy for former teammates that Raptors won title

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.